Govt for attaining food autarky from local agriculture: Razzaque
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Food Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque said Bangladesh makes a 'paradigm shift' in policies to attain food sufficiency from local agriculture, reports BSS.
"We are now talking about a 'paradigm shift' in policies to attain hundred per cent self sufficiency in cereal and non-cereal food items as opportunities of food imports are shrinking globally," he said while speaking at a two-day policy workshop on food security and nutrition in the city Monday as the chief guest.
The workshop was organised by food planning and monitoring unit (FPMU) of the government and the UN Food and Agriculture Orga-nisation (FAO).
US Ambassador to Bangladesh James F Moriarty, FAO country representative Ad Spijkers, charge d' affaires of delegation of European Union Brian Forey, among others, spoke at the inaugural session, chaired by director general of FPMU Mirza Fazlul Karim.
Findings from six out of 11 researches on the issues of food security policies, availability, access and nutrition were presented in the first day of the workshop, while five other research reports will be presented. All the research projects were conducted under a grant programme of the National Food Policy Capacity Strength-ening Programme (NFPCSP).
Dr Razzaque said the country has passed long way to raise the cereal production over last four decades, reducing imports of rice and wheat at only 0.50 million tonnes from 5.4 million tonnes in early seventies. He, however, said steps need to be taken to produce non-cereal products as well to offset hunger and malnutrition, a major cause of child and maternal mortality and morbidity.
The minister said the country might face a little shortage of food this year due to inadequate output from Aman and flash floods in Sylhet region, but insisted that the shortage would not have any impacts on market. He also expressed the hope that the price of rice would come down shortly due to pragmatic steps taken by the government.
The positive steps, he said, have already enhanced the image of Bangladesh that would receive nearly Taka 3.50 billion as assistance from World Agriculture and Food Security Programme for investment in food security measures. The support is first of its kind for an Asian nation, he added.
Moriarty said the present US administration has been focusing on food security for the poorest parts of the world. He said the United States would continue its help for Bangladesh to attain sufficiency in food - both in cereal and non-cereal.
A paper presented in the workshop showed that up to 25 per cent of rice and wheat production was compromised in Bangladesh due to poor quality of seed generation as well as their storage. The study said Bangladesh could add an additional food production worth around seven billion US dollar per annum through proper seed management.
"We are now talking about a 'paradigm shift' in policies to attain hundred per cent self sufficiency in cereal and non-cereal food items as opportunities of food imports are shrinking globally," he said while speaking at a two-day policy workshop on food security and nutrition in the city Monday as the chief guest.
The workshop was organised by food planning and monitoring unit (FPMU) of the government and the UN Food and Agriculture Orga-nisation (FAO).
US Ambassador to Bangladesh James F Moriarty, FAO country representative Ad Spijkers, charge d' affaires of delegation of European Union Brian Forey, among others, spoke at the inaugural session, chaired by director general of FPMU Mirza Fazlul Karim.
Findings from six out of 11 researches on the issues of food security policies, availability, access and nutrition were presented in the first day of the workshop, while five other research reports will be presented. All the research projects were conducted under a grant programme of the National Food Policy Capacity Strength-ening Programme (NFPCSP).
Dr Razzaque said the country has passed long way to raise the cereal production over last four decades, reducing imports of rice and wheat at only 0.50 million tonnes from 5.4 million tonnes in early seventies. He, however, said steps need to be taken to produce non-cereal products as well to offset hunger and malnutrition, a major cause of child and maternal mortality and morbidity.
The minister said the country might face a little shortage of food this year due to inadequate output from Aman and flash floods in Sylhet region, but insisted that the shortage would not have any impacts on market. He also expressed the hope that the price of rice would come down shortly due to pragmatic steps taken by the government.
The positive steps, he said, have already enhanced the image of Bangladesh that would receive nearly Taka 3.50 billion as assistance from World Agriculture and Food Security Programme for investment in food security measures. The support is first of its kind for an Asian nation, he added.
Moriarty said the present US administration has been focusing on food security for the poorest parts of the world. He said the United States would continue its help for Bangladesh to attain sufficiency in food - both in cereal and non-cereal.
A paper presented in the workshop showed that up to 25 per cent of rice and wheat production was compromised in Bangladesh due to poor quality of seed generation as well as their storage. The study said Bangladesh could add an additional food production worth around seven billion US dollar per annum through proper seed management.